Battle of al-Rawdah

The Battle of al-Rawdah (late May 1799) was a battle of the French Revolutionary Wars that occurred in Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria. The 1,499-strong French army of Jean-Baptiste Kleber marched from Beirut towards Damascus with the goal of assisting Napoleon Bonaparte's army in capturing the city, and he found his path blocked by an Ottoman army of 633 troops under Ali Naili at a mountain pass near al-Rawdah. The Ottomans set up chevaux de frise and other defensive positions, but these positions could not protect the Ottoman forces from French bullets. The Ottoman attacks against the advancing French forces failed, and the French launched bayonet charges against the Ottoman forces, routing them. Naili intended to execute an orderly withdrawal, but the French pursued and routed his withdrawing troops, destroying the Ottoman army. The Ottoman defeat at al-Rawdah allowed for the French armies to meet up at Damascus, and they captured the city after a major assault.